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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073270">Jolene</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibsAndChill/pseuds/ChibsAndChill'>ChibsAndChill</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:48:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibsAndChill/pseuds/ChibsAndChill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The blind storyteller meets the revolutionary outlaw.</p><p>Javier Escuella x OC<br/>Set a few months before Blackwater but will follow the events of RDR2</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Javier Escuella/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The lake was peacefully still with the occasional ripple made by the many fish in it. The sun was warm as it caressed her soft skin and the trees sang as the wind softly danced through them. Small animals like bunnies and squirrels were scattered around her, sounds of heavy jumps and teeth gnawing through acorns filled the air around her. Just how she liked it, alone with only the sounds of nature to keep her company.</p><p>"Oh, hi there, miss!" a high-pitched, child-like voice asked her with surprise in their voice. "Almost didn't see you there."</p><p>Jolene turned to where the sound was coming for, seeing the last echoes of the child's voice paint up their silhouette. And a child it was, small, no more than four years old with short hair and a nightgown still on.</p><p>"Hello," Jolene answered, her voice smooth and amused. "Who are you?"</p><p>The child took a step forward, breaking a fragile twig under his bare feet. "I'm Jack!"</p><p>She chuckled at the eagerness of 'Jack' who was rocking on his feet. "Are you lost, Jack?" Jolene asked. No child his age would be left to wander on his own, especially not on the outskirts of the slums of Blackwater.</p><p>"Uhuh!" Jack nodded. "I lost my mama and I can't find her anywhere!" the boy pouted and kicked a rock by his feet that flew into the lake.</p><p>Jolene looked at him with unmoving eyes, watching out for any predators that may have followed the small boy. It would be so easy for a pack, or even a lone wolf to just snatch him up and eat him before anyone even realised he was gone. But who would let their child wander into the forest so far away from the city?</p><p>"Did you wander off?" she asked, knowing he was a curious child. At his nod she continued, "and you lost your mama, what about your father? Any other family members around?"</p><p>This time he was silent and Jolene tensed as her view of him disappeared. "My papa doesn't like me very much, but I got lots of uncles! They're all waiting back at Uncle Dutch's camp."</p><p>"Dutch..." Jolene echoed, rubbing her chin in thought. "What's your last name, feller?"</p><p>"Marston!" Jack eagerly proclaimed, lurching forward, sitting down next to her. "Jack Marston, and when my mama ain't angry with papa her name is Abigail Marston."</p><p>Pulling herself to her feet, she grabbed the thin walking stick she had stolen off a drunken man in a bar as a young child. It was rough under her fingers but it was a familiar and welcome roughness that came from years of constant use and love. Jolene suspected it was used as a cane or a way to keep balance when fishing in deep water but she loved it all the same, weird twists, bumps and tears.</p><p>Jolene beckoned Jack to her, "come on then. Let's go find your mama," she told him, discreetly smacking her cane on the forest floor, pleased with the way his eyes widened at her words. "Or maybe you'd rather find her by yourself, hm? Never trust a stranger, my mama used to say. 'Course my mama was a working girl and shortly after was found shot under a bed, but don't you worry 'bout that, sweet Jack."</p><p>"I trust you," his innocent, sweet voice replied as he grabbed her left hand. "Please don't tell mama."</p><p>"Ah... sweet boy," Jolene cooed, rhythmically hitting the ground beneath her, creating ripples in the air around her that bounced off whatever was near, creating a short picture for her to navigate. "She must be worried sick by now," her harsh southern accent mixed with something foreign, proof of her childhood in a small village in Texas near the border.</p><p>"She'll be mad at me," Jack pleaded, "I didn't mean to get lost!"</p><p>"Oh, I know. Wandering is an unfortunate habit of mine. I come from a family of wanderers, you see. Much like yours, only....different. Mine wandered for survival, at first that is, but then that wandering set in our bones, seeped into our blood and now none of their descendants or mine will ever know peace, cursed to forever wander in search for something they will never find." Jolene told the young boy with a bitter-sweet grin on her painted lips. "I love it as much as I hate it. My mama tried to resist but that didn't end so well, did it?"</p><p>"No," Jack shook his head though he did not fully understand her words. "Why are you telling me this, miss.... I don't know your name!" he realised with a cute gasp and a squeeze of her hand.</p><p>"Jolene," she laughed at his innocence. "My name is Jolene, sweet boy. Now I ain't telling you all that to scare you, quite the opposite really. Wandering off ain't always bad but you should be careful with your choices or they may be all you have. Just like how my ancestors wandered and did little else, they wandered for so long they forgot how to do anything else!" It had been a long time since she spoke of her family, much less drawn wisdom from their tales. "Everything has consequences and you wandering off... Now I don't know yet how that's gonna turn out but hopefully it's good."</p><p>"I don't understand." Jack said.</p><p>Jolene chuckled again, the sound was scratchy as her throat screamed. "You don't need to. Not yet anyways. Don't mind me, I just ain't seen no one in a long time and now I can't seem to shut up."</p><p>Jack nodded and let out an 'aha' sound. "Uncle Dutch told me not to show anyone the camp but...."</p><p>"Argh, don't you mind Uncle Dutch, Jack. You're lost and I'm blind. Who am I gonna tell? My dead mother?" She joked, patting the boy on the head. "Don't you worry, I'll deal with Dutch if he gives you any trouble, you hear?"</p><p>"But if you're blind then how will you help me find camp?" Jack frowned, nose scrunching up in confusion as he glanced up at the woman next to him.</p><p>"Can you keep a secret, Jackie?" she asked him, lowering her voice for show. The boy nodded eagerly just in time for when her cane hit the ground. "My papa ain't from around here, he was a scientist from a poor village in his home country. Now when he found out my mama was pregnant he was not happy! Not happy at all! Not even the slighest, he'd swear up and down that he'd shot her dead if she showed her face to him. See my papa didn't want no child to bring him down, he wasn't a wanderer like my mama and he'd only lived in two places his whole life-"</p><p>"Jolene...?"</p><p>"Yes, Jack?" she frowned slightly at the interruption but decided to let it go. Wasn't everyday she met someone she could talk to, no less tell stories that she ached to tell. Jolene had always been a talker and any time she could she'd jump the closest person and bombard them with stories they didn't ask for.</p><p>"What's this got to do with you being blind?" the question was innocent but it made her bristle all the same. Being alone for so long made her unused to people questioning her and she had to force herself to not snap at the young boy.</p><p>"I'm getting to that. Now where was I? Oh yes, my papa ain't no wanderer and he did not want no kids around him. Now my mama wasn't happy 'bout that! Nuhuh, not one bit! She kept working and then she had me, stayed in one place for nine months, she did. My papa, ever the proud man never sought my mama out, too busy with ignoring our existence and trying to fit in with the rest of the folks. Years passed and my mama forced us to stay in one place. Five years went and I was begging, no, pleading with her that we move. I simply could not bear it anymore! My mama looked at me and told me that before we left I had to go see this man three houses down and ask for a pair of new shoes. I was an obedient child that was eager to leave and so I ran down the street, pushed the elderly and horses alike. I came upon his store and walked in, now I didn't know that he was my father, mind you and so I went right up to him and asked for a pair of shoes just like my mama told me to."</p><p>Jolene's face was blank as she reminisced. "He looked me up and down, cursed in spanish. Mierda! he said and turned around so fast he knocked over this vial of green goo. It got all over my face and burned my eyes something horribly!" she was about to continue when she realised who she was talking to and glanced down at the child holding her hand before she sighed, "I won't bore you with the details. Anyways, I screamed like a pig being sent to slaughter and in rushed the town doctor. He screamed when he saw my face and then my mama rushed in! She screamed too and then I passed out right on that floor. The next morning I woke up, vision as black as night but my hearing was better than ever! I could hear the people whispering outside of the house as if they were screaming next to me! My mama sent me to sleep, she did, and I woke up several days later with a killer headache-"</p><p>"This is a really long story," Jack complained and Jolene sighed again, this time in annoyance.</p><p>She stopped, looked down at him sternly before sweeping him up in her arms. Jolene kept one arm around his waist as the boy wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs around her waist. "Be patient, Jackie or I shall never get to the end. After my mama saw I was awake she took off the bandages and that's when I realised my papa made me go blind, accidental as it was. My mama was sobbing by my bedside but I was laughing! I could see it all, flashing around me in tune with my mama's sobs and the hooves out on the street. Echoes of the sounds, it was. I was blind but I could still see. Only downside is that when it goes all quiet I'm blind as a bat! It ain't too good with too much noise either because then I get all overwhelmed and my head hurts. I never did lose that extra hearing I got, nor the other senses. You see, Jack, I may have been robbed of my sight but I gained in all else."</p><p>Jack breathed out a sigh of relief against her neck once she finished her tale. "That was a long story. I don't think I like them that long, Auntie Jolene. I will never ever complain when Uncle Hosea tells a story ever again!" he nodded his head frantically and Jolene couldn't help the laugh bubbling out from her.</p><p>"I like telling stories almost as much as I like hearing them. Maybe your Uncle Hosea could tell me a story once I get you back to camp, hm?"</p><p>Jack hesitated, "I don't know..."</p><p>"Why not, sweet child? Afraid of me stealing him away from you?" Jolene joked, digging her fingers into his sides as she tickled him. "Don't you worry about me, mister! I can take on that uncle of yours just fine."</p><p>Peals of sweet laughter came from the boy in her arms and Jolene swore she had never heard such a sweet sound before. He twisted and turned in her hold but no matter what he couldn't get away from her hold.</p><p>"Stop.... stop, Auntie Jolene!" he pleaded and begged for mercy but by the way he sought her out whenever she would have to knock her cane against the floor told her he enjoyed it about as much as she did.</p><p>Jolene shook her head and kept on teasing the boy. "Not until you ask your uncle to tell me some of them stories he's hiding!"</p><p>"Fine! Fine, I'll ask him!" Jack relented, chest heaving as he panted from all the tickling. "But what if Uncle Hosea doesn't like you? Will you still play and tell me stories?"</p><p>"If your mama don't mind. I don't bow to no man." She held her head high as she said the words. "Uncle Hosea couldn't stop me even if he set the whole army after me."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The pair wandered through the forest and walked over the sandy desert. It ended up taking most of the day until Jack shouted that he saw smoke rising on the horizon. As much as she liked the child she was carrying she wasn't used to being around someone, much less a child and she had no idea how to talk to him or entertain him apart from her stories- which he thought too long and boring.</p><p>The sand was hard for Jolene to go through, her cane got stuck in the sand and proper places to beat it on was few and far between. She was mostly flying blind, guided only by Jack unless a stray rider or two decided to ride past the two. Then and only then would her vision be filled with blue echoes and even then she could not see the camp they were desperately searching for. Damn them for being careful with their hiding spot and damn them for losing a child.</p><p>"We must be close now, I can see someone!" Jack's words were a blessing to her tired body. "I think it's Lenny but he's too far away," he pouted as he started wiggling restlessly.</p><p>"And who's this Lenny feller you keep yapping about?" Jolene asked, voice gravelly with thirst and overuse at this point. "He close to your uncles?"</p><p>The boy nodded and she let him get down, thankful to get her arm back. At least that way if she got really desperate she could dig for a stone in the sand to throw.</p><p>"Lenny is one of the new boys."</p><p>Jolene felt skeptical that Jack should be telling her all this about the men his mama ran with but any information at that point was good information. If he was who she thought he was, she was about to walk into some not so friendly people in a not so friendly camp with their missing child. Now she could only hope they didn't think she kidnapped him as that would probably make them shoot her at the spot and that would be a horrible ending to her story.</p><p>She heard him before she saw him.</p><p>"Jack!" A new voice screamed out. "Hey everyone Jack is back!"</p><p>Seems they had gotten much closer to the camp than she realised and her window to make up a plan had long since passed. Jolene cursed in every language she knew and cursed some more when the sandy ground got even looser and she could see nothing. She felt vulnerable without her sight and none of the people at camp was close enough to make any ripples big enough for her to see them or where she was walking. Her footsteps only made enough noise so that she could see her feet for a mere moment before it was gone again.</p><p>"Lenny!" Jack screamed to the man, waving with both of his hands. "I got lost but Jolene helped me get back!"</p><p>Jolene was starting to see the tall man that was running towards her but it was still too faint to really tell. Walking into a tense situation like this wasn't on her to-do list, but then again neither was rescuing a child who didn't enjoy her stories.</p><p>"Jack!" Lenny called out again and this time Jolene could see the outline of the man. He was tall, not very broad but he was carrying a rifle. This 'Lenny' was coming at them fast and her vision of him kept flickering in and out.</p><p>Jack broke free from her grasp and rushed towards Lenny. "Where's mama?"</p><p>Lenny stopped by Jack and Jolene hurried closer, eager to not lose them both. "She's back at camp. You can't go off on your own like that, Jack. What if something happened and no one was around to save you?"</p><p>"Jolene saved me," the boy defended himself as he crossed his small arms over his chest. "She wouldn't let me get hurt. Right, Jolene?"</p><p>She froze as the boy mentioned her but she forced herself to keep on moving. "That's, um, that's right Jack." Jolene winced at her own voice. "I got you back safe, didn't I?"</p><p>"Yeah," Lenny butted in, turning his head towards Jolene. "How'd you know where to find us?" he was suspicious of her and the way he clenched his gun made her nervous. What if he deemed her a threat and shot her? What if his finger slipped? Then her wandering days would be over.</p><p>Jolene finally reached the pair, panting softly. "I..uh... I didn't. I got us out of the forest and then Jackie here pointed in the direction he came. It was pure luck that you spotted us or we'd be wandering the desert forever! Now I don't mind the wandering but I do mind the heat and the lack of water."</p><p>"Come on, Jack, let's get you back to miss Roberts." Lenny ushered the boy closer to him, still eying Jolene as if she was plotting to kill him and steal Jack away.</p><p>She chuckled at the thought. "Do you mind me going with you? I was promised a story from someone named Hosea and I don't rightly think I could make it back to Blackwater without some water." Jolene brought her hands up in front of her, cane thrown on the floor. "Now, I ain't planning nothing. Just a blind woman wanting some refreshments before going her merry way!"</p><p>"Please?" Jack gave him the puppy-eyes and Jolene watched Lenny cave right in front of her eyes. "She saved me and if I tell mama and Hosea about her they'll tell me I made her up!"</p><p>"Fine, but Dutch is gonna freak." Lenny muttered, standing up from where he had crouched next to Jack. "Right this way, miss. Shouldn't be too far now."</p><p>"What way?" She asked, spinning around for effect. Jolene didn't tell just anyone about her sight, especially not strangers who could and would use it against her should they need to. And she needed every advantage she could get if she was going to walk willingly into the lion's nest. "I'm blind, mister."</p><p>Lenny gaped before hurriedly responding, "Sorry! My apologies, miss. Here, let me guide you." He took her arm in his and gently moved them in the opposite direction of where she stood.</p><p>Jolene swiped up her cane as they moved past it but didn't give up the pretense of being a helpless blind woman. Of course she was blind but not as helpless as she wanted it to seem. Granted she couldn't see very well in the sand but she would be able to find the camp on her own.</p><p>They walked in silence for awhile until Jolene couldn't bear it anymore. "Hey Lenny."</p><p>"Yeah?" he responded.</p><p>"Did I ever tell you about this old man named Lenny I used to know?" she asked him, tapping the beat to an old song on his arm. Jolene was almost certain she was stumbling around like a newborn horse but she couldn't care less. It felt nice to be helped for once.</p><p>Lenny shook his head. "No. We just met, remember?"</p><p>"Right." Jolene chuckled before clearing her throat. "You see old man Lenny back in Tumbleweed was a wretched old man. Wretched but filthy rich. Now Lenny was sort of an uncle to me, don't know how but he said he was and who am I to question the elderly. Lenny had five wives but no children. 'Course I poisoned all the wives out of kindness, he never found out. Now old man Lenny is all alone without his wives and all he had was me. My people were wanderers but I wanted that money. I'm a greedy little thing, you see. Old man Lenny was so old even the other elders called him old man Lenny, funny how that works-"</p><p>"Why are you telling me this, miss?" Lenny interrupted her and Jolene huffed angrily.</p><p>"Stop interrupting me!" she smacked his arm and he yelped. "That wretched old man grew even more rotten as the days went by. I used up all my precious poison on his five wives, bless their souls. So I had to get creative. How do you kill a man in such a way no one suspects you?" Jolene asked in general.</p><p>"Silently in the night?" Lenny asked her hesitantly, voice low as if he didn't want Jack to hear.</p><p>Jolene scoffed and shook her head. "No, you silly man. You place dynamite in every corner of his house! That's what you do. Dynamite in every corner, ammunition spread around the floor and bottles of alcohol on every shelf! That's how you kill a man. I waited until the brightest point of day and sat the whole thing on fire! BOOM it said!" she gestured with her free arm. "Old man Jones went up in flames, house and all but the night before I took all of his money after I fed him a barrel of rat poison-</p><p>"Why'd you blow him up if you already poisoned him?" the man holding her asked incredulously.</p><p>"Because poisoning someone is not fun," she pouted. "'Sides I wanted to go out with a boom before I hit the road again. Literally," Jolene hit the sand as she said 'literally'.</p><p>Lenny sighed but said nothing.</p><p>"I don't think I like that story very much," came Jack's upset voice.</p><p>Jolene shook her head and patted him on his head, enjoying the soft curls. "You're not supposed to because Jackie is still a sweet, innocent child who's not supposed to enjoy tales of murder. Sweet Jackie likes tales of princesses and dragons and knights, ain't that right, Jack?"</p><p>Jack was walking several steps ahead of both Jolene and Lenny, short, stubby legs eagerly pushing him forwards. He had a jump in his step that he lacked before Lenny joined them and his voice regained that childish twinkle he had. "Nuhuh, I like Uncle Hosea's stories and when I grow up I want to be just like him!"</p><p>"Our time is coming to an end, young Jack." Jolene bitterly spoke, feeling how the noose around her neck tightened with each day that passed. "The west ain't like it used to be and the east is worse than ever before. Lawmen in every village, government officials peeking into every window, hunting down the good folk of this country." Civilisation was unavoidable and crept closer with each second, town after town succumbing to the rules and laws of the filthy rich, law enforcement dividing the folk, condemning people like her and protecting the rich and crooked. It used to be a glorious place, wild as its name and full of outlaws, gunslingers and gangs. The perfect place for a wandering outlaw like her and her curse wouldn't vanish just because the world moved on. "I ain't ever much liked being oppressed nor suffocated, mind you. City folk have no place among us but here they are, stubborn and rich. They look down on people like us, there ain't gonna be no freedom soon enough if they got their way. Civilisation is the work of all that is evil, sent to suffocate those that resist, those that still remember what it's like to truly be free."</p><p>"Speaking like that you'd get on well with Dutch. Sounds just like him, only less fancy and less Evelyn Miller." Lenny told her, hand tensing on her arm. "With any luck he might just let you stay awhile. Might do you some good, miss."</p><p>She chuckled, patting his clothed arm. "Never you mind that, Lenny. I'll survive, I always do." There was a tone of sadness or maybe longing in her voice that made the air around them bitter with the dark memories of her past. "Have I told you the story of how I-"</p><p>Lenny shook his head, "you're gonna have to tell me later, miss, we're here now."</p><p>Vaguely she could see a big collection of something, maybe wagons? Jolene could hear the chatter of the people living there, the neighs of the horses, the clangs from pots and so much more. Was this what an outlaw camp was like? Full of laughter and activity?</p><p>The closer they got the picture got clearer. A few wagons stood on the outskirts of the camp with a lot of horses, she couldn't tell the exact number from where she stood, one or two people were guarding the wagons with guns in their hands. A few tents and lean-tos around what looked like fires, and a big tent in the middle of the camp with loud opera music coming from it. A man stood in the opening with his arms crossed over his chest, Dutch? Another man sat on a chair next to him, whole body shaking with coughs. Hosea?</p><p>"Who's this?" the man standing in front of the tent asked. Jolene had never heard a voice like his before- it was so many things at once, it was rough with aggressive undertones but a thick layer of charm placed neatly over the distrust and aggression would have hid that from anyone but her. Had Jolene not been blind she wouldn't have noticed the man under the mask but when one relied on their hearing as much as she did she had to hear what others wouldn't.</p><p>Lenny let go off her arm and took a few steps towards his leader. "Found her with Jack down the hill. Said she found him wandering and decided to help bring him back."</p><p>"Thank you, miss...?" Hosea thanked her, his voice was scratchy and dry but it was kinder than most she had met. She could see why Jack was so fond of the man now.</p><p>"Jolene." Jolene smiled in what she hoped was his direction as the noise around them had fallen mostly silent and therefore kept him from her sight. "No last name and no middle names. Just Jolene."</p><p>Dutch was the one who spoke this time, "well then, just Jolene, how did you find us?"</p><p>She shrugged, hands resting on her walking stick. "I know the way out of the forest and Jack did the rest. I was just there to make sure none of them coyotes or O'Driscolls got to him before he got home to his mama. I'm weak for saving people in distress, you see, but I ain't gonna lie to you, had he not been a child I'd have left him to rot." Jolene was only half-joking but hoped the amusement in her voice and the shine twinkle in her eyes hid the truth from them. "I'm afraid the big, strong, manly men have to save themselves."</p><p>"I hate to be rude but what help would a blind woman be to a small boy?" Hosea asked, his focus going back to sharpening the knife in his hand. Jolene turned her head to him, eager to catch the movements now revealed to her, taking in the sluggish way he pulled the knife down the sharpening stone and the way his chest rattled fraily when he breathed.</p><p>Not wanting to reveal her secrets she shrugged, "I'm better than nothing. Though I've made enemies with many snakes and rats if that's what you're worried about."</p><p>Dutch chuckled at her words, no doubt catching the double meaning. "Come now, Hosea. Miss Jolene seems like a kind lady. Would you like a glass of water, miss? You look thirsty."</p><p>"Is it poisoned?"</p><p>"Not at all, dear girl." Dutch laughed as if what she said was the funniest thing he's ever heard. "You've no enemies here. Stay awhile, rest up! Consider it my humble thanks for bringing back Jack to us."</p><p>"In that case," Jolene was very thirsty after all and she wanted to hear one of Hosea's stories before she left. A life on the path was her curse but this way she'd have food in her belly and new stories to tell whoever would listen. "I'd love to. Would, uh, someone mind?" she stretched out an arm, shaking her hand as if to urge them closer to her. "I'd hate to fall and die. Would be hard for any of you to explain why you've got the corpse of a blind woman in front of your tent."</p><p>"It would indeed. Lenny, why don't you guide this fine woman over to Pearson and give her some of the good stuff, none of that stew."</p><p>"Oo, the fancy stuff," Jolene chuckled and pretended to fan herself. "Why, mister Dutch you're too kind."</p><p>Dutch waved a hand and went into his tent, closing the drapes behind him. Hosea remained in his seat, still sharpening that knife but Jolene knew he was watching her every move.</p><p>"Why don't you join us, Hosea? Jack told me all about your stories and now I ain't ever been shy so I gotta ask if you'd tell me some? It gets lonely on the road sometimes. You don't mind, do you, eh?" The blind woman asked the old man, a charming smile pulling on her lips that reached her eyes. The sun had turned her tan cheeks a soft pink with the beginning of a burn on her nose.</p><p>"Not at all." Hosea replied, groaning as he stood up. The man rubbed his back for the first few steps before he straightened up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The trio walked over to where she assumed Pearson's wagon was. Every step was shaky and unsteady as Lenny, obviously inexperienced with leading someone, kept pulling her too harshly in one direction or too softly for her to feel. Most of the camp had gone silent since she arrived apart from a few men and women doing chores on the outskirts of the camp. Sill, the echoes of their chores were much too faint to help her.</p><p>"So, how many of you are there?" Jolene asked the two men on her arms. "I know there's a lot of you but..."</p><p>"There must be over twenty of us by now," he thought for a second before replying. "Why do you ask?" he suspiciously asked her and had it not been for the loud bang of something hitting the ground right by him she would have missed the way he looked over her at Lenny.</p><p>"Just innocent curiosity, Hosea, just innocent curiosity. I like to know who's around me since I can't, um, see them." For once her motive was as innocent as it sounded.</p><p>"Here we are," Hosea said after a few seconds of tense silence and had it gone on any long Jolene swore she would have told them a story just to make them say something. "Pearson's the camp cook."</p><p>"Hi Pearson," Jolene said, assuming Pearson was around his wagon somewhere. "I'm stealing your food, but with permission."</p><p>Lenny chuckled and let her arm go. "I have to go back to patrol, you want me to get someone, Hosea?"</p><p>Hosea shook his head. "Tell Javier on your way out. He should be around here somewhere."</p><p>Jolene perked up at the name. "Who's Javier?"</p><p>Soft footsteps came from behind her and when a soft hand suddenly fell on her shoulder she jumped, startled at the sudden touch. Unlucky that her extra senses didn't make her grow eyes in the back of her neck to prevent people from sneaking up on her.</p><p>As soon as she jumped the hand fell off her hand and a sharp 'Javier, for God's sake the woman is blind!' from Hosea didn't make her heart any calmer as it threatened to beat out of her chest.</p><p>"Ay, dios mio! Lenny didn't tell me!" who she assumed was Javier quickly apologized, his hand coming back to her shoulder as he squeezed it apologetically. "My apologies, hermosa."</p><p>Javier's hand was warm and soft, softer than hers and certainly much softer than anyone she had ever met while living on the road. Soft as they were they still carried callouses from gripping his weapons, chores and horse riding. On the contrary to the softness of his skin his voice was a charming rasp with that charming accent her father used to have before she hunted him down. There wasn't much else she could tell about him until he stood in front of her apart from his steps- a slow swagger, she'd say, confident and arrogant as a man like him would be. No doubt dangerous as well.</p><p>She waved off his concern, "I know. Hard to tell from behind."</p><p>"Hosea," Javier greeted the man holding her arm.</p><p>"Javier," Hosea greeted back kindly but with an edge to it that surprised her. "I gotta go talk to Dutch about something. Why don't you take care of Miss Jolene here until I get back? Heard from Lenny she's got some good stories." Okay that last part was an obvious lie- Lenny didn't like her stories.</p><p>"'Course." Javier agreed and the hand on her shoulder slid down to rest on her arm. "I'll take good care of the lady," he practically purred.</p><p>After saying goodbye to Jolene, Hosea slowly shuffled away from the pair. Jolene could only assume that she caught Hosea on one of his bad days or he was acting it up so that she would underestimate him. Little did they all know she was conning them too, the only one who knew the truth was Jack and if he told them they wouldn't believe him. Afterall, who would believe a child that said a blind woman could see in echoes.</p><p>Ever the lady she turned to Javier with a big grin. "Hosea and Dutch promised me food. Did I ever tell you about that one time I hadn't eaten in weeks and had to dress up as a clown and scare the folk in a town down by the border?"</p><p>Javier shook his head, guiding her to sit down by a table. Bless the man he even gave her the cane so she could knock it around. The camp was much bigger than she thought and so were the wagons. Pearson's wagon was stocked to the brim and a butcher's table stood abandoned by the left corner of it. Pearson himself was nowhere to be seen and she internally cursed Lenny and Hosea for letting her embarrass herself like that. Talking to a man who wasn't there? Crazy blind woman right there. Javier stopped in front of the stool and guided her down on it, a gentle hand on her arm that never pulled or forced her in any direction.</p><p>"Now tell me," he encouraged her once he sat down as well and it was the first time Jolene 'saw' Javier. She could vaguely see a hat on top of his head, bowler perhaps and she could see the fraying edges of a poncho. Her father never wore one, instead opting for fine suits and shining black shoes that would make anyone go blind if they looked down on them. He wasn't very tall but neither was he short, a medium, with a strong, lean build that screamed hidden strength and years of survival. He pulled out a knife and dug it into the wood, playing with it as he waited for her story. His face was blurred but they always were- unless it was raining or for some weird reason submerged in water but that's a story for another day.</p><p>Jolene was surprised that he asked for her story as no one had ever asked for them before. "Well... ain't no one ever asked for one of my stories before," she frowned sadly.</p><p>Javier dug his knife in harder, the sound showing how he tilted his head to look up at her. "Then they're fools."</p><p>"Fools indeed," Jolene chuckled and absentmindedly played with her fingers. "Now the story! It was a warm, too warm, day back in what must be 1889 when I was 16. My family are wanderers, you see and I was doing just that- wandering. I didn't have any money, not that that was anything new to me but I was aching for a glass of cold spirits that evening and so I decided that I damn well was going to have me one of them fancy drinks. Hadn't eaten in weeks either so I was starving! My mama never took me to see any clowns but I figured it couldn't be too hard to dress up as one! Stole some grease paint from one of the working girls in the saloon, painted my entire face white, I did."</p><p>Javier chuckled at her story, "I'd like to see that, carino."</p><p>Jolene regarded him suspiciously, furrowing her eyebrows as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "You'd like to watch me look like a clown, eh?"</p><p>"Why not?" he responded, swirling his knife around on the table effortlessly. All the ridges, cracks and scratches suddenly made sense.</p><p>"Back to my story, you silly man." She playfully scolded him, feeling her lips forming a small smile. "I'll dress you up like a clown if you don't shut up. Now... I went out into the saloon but no one looked at me weirdly so I thought to myself 'now this just ain't right!" and I marched right back in! Turns out a drunken man decided to use the girl's bed and now he was laying on all the makeup. Men.... Couldn't walk back out looking like that though so I did the very mature thing of stealing the brush from his pocket, frizzed my hair until it stood up in every direction and then used the brush on the man. Took ages but I got it in the end. Scooped up that blood and painted my nose red kinda like when you're out too long in the cold and your nose turns all blushy? Yeah that. With a white face, red nose and frizzy hair I walked out into the saloon again but still no one looked at me! I thought to myself 'either these fools are dead, drunk themselves blind or I'm just not looking like a clown'."</p><p>"Maybe you're too pretty to be a clown."</p><p>"I'll have you know I do a glorious clown," Jolene defended herself, pushing a mug into where he was going to stick his knife next, making the sharp blade hit the edge and then hitting the wood sideways. That'd take some time with the sharpening stone to fix, she smugly thought to herself. "I went back into that room and stole the man's clothes. Now they was too big on little ol' me so I stuffed the excess space with pillows, looked like a balloon I did! Walked back out into the bar and everyone looked at me before bursting out laughing!" Jolene threw her head back as she laughed, thinking back on how the people all scrambled to their feet while they pointed their fingers at her. "I, being a blind woman, didn't think this plan through. How was I gonna rob them blind when I myself can't even see them!"</p><p>"You were gonna rob them blind?" Javier snorted and threw the mug away.</p><p>"Yes!" Jolene retorted. "I was! Rob 'em of all they had and then ride away in the night on one of their horses. Had it all painted up in my head, we'd go riding off into the yellow sunset, or orange, I can't rightly remember. Now, I was all dressed up and I didn't go through all that trouble for nothing so I stumbled around in the in until I fell over on this feller. He was dressed all fancy-"</p><p>"How'd you know?"</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>Javier moved his stool just the tiniest bit closer, his face gaining a bit more clarity. She could now make out that he had his hair in a ponytail under the bowler hat with the front pieces framing his face. She could also tell he carried several guns on him and that he was looking straight at her. "How'd you know how he was dressed?"</p><p>"I felt it! The fabric was soft and wore a suit, need I go on? I may be blind but I ain't helpless, mister." Jolene bristled.</p><p>He raised his hands in front of him and Jolene didn't have the heart to tell him she couldn't see what he was doing. "I meant no offense."</p><p>"Eh, none taken. So I fell into this rich feller's lap and if that wasn't a golden opportunity then I don't know what is. I take everything and anything I can find in his pockets before he manages to push me off him. Of course I stabbed him for the offense- how dare he push a lady? So I took the stolen goods, went back into the room and got it all off of me, went back out, ordered some warm food and a bottle of their finest whiskey. Felt like I was a queen, only a blind one....in a saloon....and poor....and starving.... never mind that! 'Course people had seen me as the clown and I used up all my money on that meal, silly me."</p><p>"Hey, Javier, who's this?" a different man asked, his voice was rougher than any of the others and the southern twang much stronger. "Didn't realise you brought them home?"</p><p>"It ain't like that, Arthur," he defended himself, hands splayed out on the table. "She's the one who found Jack, remember?"</p><p>"The blind lady," Jolene jumped in when it didn't seem to click for 'Arthur'. Arthur was taller than the other men as well and much broader with strong shoulders and a thinner waist. Muscled brute, the brawns she suspected. "Dutch offered me food and water before I leave. Hope you don't mind too terribly."</p><p>Arthur coughed awkwardly and the sound allowed her to see the way he lowered his head before pulling his hat further down his face. "When they told me you were blind I imagined someone-"</p><p>"Someone older," she mused, chuckling softly. "I get that a lot, you know. In fact I've got a story for that-"</p><p>Javier interrupted her before Jolene could get carried away. "Actually, Jolene. You were already telling me a story."</p><p>"I was?" Jolene asked, surprised. She's completely forgot all about that. "What about?", she cursed her forgetfulness and she cursed herself even more for not finishing her story. Javier deserved a full story.</p><p>The mexican man slammed his knife into the table, scratching his chin. "The one where you frightened a whole town dressed up as a clown."</p><p>Jolene gasped and nodded her head. "Right! I was telling you bout how I was dining like a queen." Javier nodded so Jolene continued, Arthur's presence fading away as she lost herself in the story. "I needed more money to last me until the next town of unfortunate fellers turned up and me being me decided to do the easiest thing! Dress up as a clown, murder some people, butcher the chickens and nail them to people's front doors, place pig feet in their pillow-cases...." she trailed off, picking dirt from under her nail. "Didn't take long to get back into the outfit, though I had to get new blood from the man since it dried when I was eating. Now, I was all dressed up again and I walked out of the saloon, waited until nightfall up on a hill where a bunch of coyotes stayed. They kept on trying to eat my hair so I ate them instead! Assert dominance and all that."</p><p>"Over coyotes?" Javier asked, amused.</p><p>"Well, of course." Jolene frowned, shaking her head as if he was the weird one. "How else will I reach global domination if I don't even have dominance over a few coyotes. Back to my story- I waited until nightfall and then I rolled down the hill to the town. Hit my head many times, I did, but I didn't care, nuhuh! So... I went over to a few of the houses near me, killed the people inside and then spread their bodies around the house like a piece of art for the sheriff who'd find them the next morning, because I'm nice like that. Took a few chickens, killed them and threw them around on the streets after plucking the feathers so I could make a new pillow. Then I nailed some to their doors to really frighten them before sneaking into the houses of the fellers who was still in the saloon and I placed some pig feet in their pillows! Robbed them all as well, got enough money to last me a couple of months on the road. Now... I was all bloody at this point, you see, and I walked right back into that saloon, told all the fellers what I did and then left. 'Course I wasn't gonna stick in their memory if I only did it once so for a full week I repeated it each and every night, making each one worse than the one before. Then I just disappeared!"</p><p>Both Javier and Arthur laughed, Javier more unashamedly and louder than Arthur's much more reserved and shy laugh that was more like a muffled chuckle than anything. Jolene smiled widely as she realised that they liked the story.</p><p>"You're one hell of a woman," Arthur complimented her, tilting his hat before walking away.</p><p>Javier called out a 'bye, Arthur' before turning back to Jolene. "Hey, that was a good story. Wouldn't mind hearing some more if you decide to stick around for awhile."</p><p>A warm feeling spread through her chest at his words, picking at the icy walls that surrounded her heart. No one ever told her that, and no one ever told her to stay. Many had shown her basic kindness, told her to take her time, told her to stay a night but they never meant it and they never wanted her there. Her mama wanted her but she was taken from her before Jolene could appreciate and love the warmth her mother gave her, and her papa left her blind and then left. What warmth and love could be found in a world where she was all alone to face the curse of both her ancestors and blindness?</p><p>"Thanks... that's not what they usually say," Jolene admitted with a weak chuckle, still recovering from his words. Truth to be told it made her uncomfortable to be wanted, that meant he had expectations and she never did do well with expectations.</p><p>"What do they usually say?" Javier asked her, leaning on his knife.</p><p>She grunted, "piss off."</p><p>"Ay, then you tell those lying pendejos to get lost or else..." He pulled the knife out from the table, swinging it in the air before throwing it back down into the table. "They ain't worth your time, Jolene. Now if anyone gives you any trouble in camp you come to me and I'll take care of it, eh? All for you, carino."</p><p>"Sure, Javier, gracias." Jolene responded but they both knew she wouldn't. The day she would ask a man for help would be the day hell froze over, her vision returned and her father's bones wasn't buried under the house of a weird feller down in Lakay. If anyone gave her trouble she'd give trouble back, not go running to their brother for help.</p>
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